Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Fighting Poverty With Faith: Good Jobs Green JobsFor the third year in a row, JRF and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs are joining with Catholic Charities USA and now the National Council of Churches to spearhead the 2010 Fighting Poverty with Faith mobilization (see http://fightingpovertywithfaith.com/f2/).

As Jews, we celebrate a tradition of justice and compassion, and we are called upon to hold ourselves and our communities accountable to the moral standard of this tradition. However, as we look across our country today, we see a nation where millions of people are lacking the basic necessities of life; we see growing numbers of jobless individuals, and even more people who are working, but whose wages are not enough to keep them out of poverty.

Fighting Poverty with Faith is our response to this painful reality. Fighting Poverty with Faith (FPWF) is building a nationwide movement to cut domestic poverty in half between 2010 and 2020. We are a diverse coalition of national and local faith groups that refuses to accept the status quo of poverty in United States. We bring the moral authority and the organizing power of the faith community to ensure that meeting the needs of those living in poverty is a national priority, and to highlight solutions that policy makers, community leaders and concerned individuals can take to address the root causes of poverty.

We are asking Reconstructionist clergy and community members to join individuals, synagogues, Jewish Community Relations Councils and federations to join together in the month of October 2010, to educate and to advocate around poverty in America.
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Fighting Poverty With Faith: Good Jobs Green JobsJRF endorses and joins national interfaith coalition "“FIGHTING POVERTY WITH FAITH: GOOD JOBS, GREEN JOBS", October 14-21, 2009 http://jta.org/news/article/2009/10/13/1008480/jcpa-works-for-good-jobs-green-jobs

JRF has joined The Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Catholic Charities USA who are co-chairing a national mobilization to create a united faith voice on poverty in America. We are joining over 30 other American faith organizations—including 13 national Jewish agencies—and expect more to sign on in the coming weeks. The centerpiece of the initiative is a week of action entitled “FIGHTING POVERTY WITH FAITH: GOOD JOBS, GREEN JOBS" to take place between October 14-21, 2009. Check out the mobilization’s website at www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com.

As members of the Jewish community, we have a strong tradition of helping those who are less fortunate. We run soup kitchens and missions and shelters, we give money to charity and we clean up parks and area neighborhoods. But we also know, as our sage Maimonides teaches, the highest and most virtuous form of helping another is to empower that person to take care of him or herself. We also know that one of the most sustainable solutions to poverty is the creation of good, family-supporting jobs and workforce policies that help people lift themselves out of poverty. Many of you participated in last year’s successful Fighting Poverty with Faith week of action. In 2009, we plan to build on last year’s success by promoting a more focused mobilization with deeper participation across the nation. The focus of this year’s mobilization is centered on creating pathways out of poverty through the promotion of workforce development and green jobs.

The goal is to create a strong and united faith voice to ensure that as we transition to a clean-energy economy, we take the opportunity to promote workforce strategies that will bring people out of poverty. While our nation’s transition to a new, energy efficient economy is already taking shape, it is up to us to ensure that this transition will lead to meaningful poverty-reduction and that communities are not left out of the opportunities presented by the emerging, green sectors. The faith community has a particularly important role to play in the creation of this new industry, because of our historic involvement in social service provision and because of the clear, moral messaging we bring to the table.

To these ends, faith organizations across the country will be taking coordinated actions throughout the week that engage their members in education and advocacy regarding green jobs. All of our national partners are also encouraging their grassroots membership and local affiliates to mobilize people of faith in communities across the country during this week. They are all sending similar memos and resources to their field, urging them collaborate with local partners on participating in the week of action and meeting these objectives.

If you have questions about participating in Fighting Poverty with Faith or implementing programming in your community, please contact Becky Eisen
beisen@thejcpa.org
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs
1775 K Street NW, Suite 320
Washington, DC 20006
Office: 202-212-6037
Fax: 202-212-6002
www.jewishpublicaffairs.org

2009 Sponsoring organizations: National Endorsing Organizations: Alliance to End Hunger, American Baptist Churches USA, Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies BBYO, Inc., Bread for the World, Catholic Charities USA, Center of Concern, The Episcopal Church,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelicals for Social Action, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu American Seva Charities, International Association of Jewish Vocational Services, Islamic Relief, Islamic Society of North America, Jewish Council for Public Affairs,
Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Jewish Women International, Lutheran Services in America, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Council of Churches USA, National Council of Jewish Women, NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Progressive National Baptist Church, The Rabbinical Assembly, Society of St. Vincent DePaul, Sojourners, Union for Reform Judaism, United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries, United Jewish Communities, The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society, Women of Reform Judaism.
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JRF endorses and joins national interfaith coalition "Fighting Poverty With Faith: A Week of Action", September 9-16, 2008

WHAT WILL THE CANDIDATES DO IN THEIR FIRST 100 DAYS
TO ADDRESS POVERTY AND OPPORTUNITY IN AMERICA?

From September 9-16, 2008 people of faith across the country mobilized their communities to ask their local, state and national candidates what they will do to address the pressing issues of poverty and opportunity in America in their first 100 days in office.

In communities across the country, people of faith called and wrote the candidates, held forums to discuss these issues with civic and political leadership, engaged in interfaith community service to aid those in need in their communities, and otherwise highlighted the need for increased leadership on these issues.

For more information visit www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com, www.spotlightonpoverty.org and www.jrf.org/hunger, where you can find resources on how to participate and find events near you!

2008 Sponsoring Organizations included:
Alliance to End Hunger, Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies, Bread for the World, Catholic Charities USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Interfaith Youth Core, Islamic Relief, Islamic Society of North America, The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, The National Council of Jewish Women, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Council of Churches, NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington Office, The Righteous Indignation Project, Sojourners, Union for Reform Judaism, United Jewish Communities